Open AccessCorynebacterium singulare sp. nov., a New Species for Urease-Positive Strains Related to Corynebacterium minutissimum
Author(s) -
Philippe Riegel,
Raymond Ruimy,
François Renaud,
J. Freney,
Gilles Prévost,
F. Jehl,
Richard Christen,
H. Monteil
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
international journal of systematic bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1070-6259
pISSN - 0020-7713
DOI - 10.1099/00207713-47-4-1092
Subject(s) - corynebacterium , biology , dna , strain (injury) , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , phylogenetic tree , dna–dna hybridization , 16s ribosomal rna , isolation (microbiology) , genetics , gene , anatomy
We studied two coryneform strains from clinical specimens. These strains had type IV and corynemycolic acids in their cell walls and also had phenotypic characteristics, such as urease activity and fermentation of glucose and sucrose but not trehalose, which did not permit assignment to any previously recognized taxon. According to DNA-DNA hybridization data, these two strains are members of the same species (level of DNA similarity, 86%). Phylogenetic analysis based on comparisons of almost complete small-subunit ribosomal DNA sequences revealed that these strains are closely related to Corynebacterium minutissimum, but DNA relatedness experiments clearly showed that they constitute a distinct new species with a level of DNA relatedness to the C. minutissimum type strain of less than 40%. This new species can be differentiated from C. minutissimum strains by its enzymatic activities and carbon source utilization, and the name Corynebacterium singulare is proposed for it. The type strain is strain IBS B52218 (= CCUG 37330), which was isolated from a semen specimen.